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The Music in It

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Haiku’s
origins have been traced to a form of Japanese poetry known as haikai no renga, a kind of linked poetry
that was practiced widely by Matsuo Bashō (1644-94) and his contemporaries. Over time, the
first link in a renga, the hokku, evolved into the haiku as we
understand it today. A minimalist form of poetry, haiku has been popular among
modern poets since the 1960s, when a western-world haiku movement generated
increased interest in the form. Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder,
Billy Collins, John Ashbery, and Paul Muldoon have written haiku, and
haiku-like poems are found in the works of such literary greats as Ezra Pound,
Amy Lowell, and Richard Wright. Although something other than “mainstream”
poetry and very much its own genre, haiku is a unique and demanding form to
master.

In traditional
Japanese, the haiku is typically written vertically on the page (from top
to bottom). Each haiku contains seventeen onji (sound symbols). However, early
translators were mistaken when they assumed that onji were equivalent to
syllables in the English language and that haiku should be written in three
lines containing 5,7, and 5 syllables respectively. Although incorrect, these “defining”
qualities of haiku are still regarded as “haiku format” by many. A more
acceptable standard for English-language haiku is 10-20 syllables in 3 lines
with a longer second line and shorter first and third lines. That said, the
parameters are often stretched depending on content and meaning. Three lines
have become the norm, but haiku of one and two lines are also seen, and
syllable count varies

Traditional
haiku contain a kigo (season word) to
indicate the season or time of year in which the haiku takes place, along with two
phrases (or images) that are inherently unrelated but are juxtaposed to show
some commonality within a particular experience. Normally, one idea is
presented in the first two lines and then a switch occurs in the third.
Alternatively, a single idea is presented in the first line and a switch occurs
in the second and third lines. Nearly every haiku has this kind of two-part,
juxtapositional structure. The shift is achieved with what is called a kireji or cutting word, which “cuts” the
poem into two parts. The kireji is a
kind of caesura (and similar in theory to the volta in a sonnet) that signals a pause in the poem’s “thought” and suggests a parallel to
the preceding phrase, the following phrase, or provides a “dismount for the
poem that offers a finely tuned sense of closure.

Haiku
is, in a sense, an art of detachment in which the poet is removed enough from
the subject to write without self-interest or self-absorption but, rather, with
a sense of both inward and outward direction. The best haiku are life-affirming
and eternity-conscious, spontaneous and unpretentious but entirely focused
and either gently or startlingly profound.

Note: The word haiku forms its own plural – haikus is
incorrect.

Acknowledgment: The essay part of this prompt (above) first appeared in

1. Haiku
describe things in a very few words – they never tell, intellectualize, or
state feelings outrightly. They never use figures of speech (similes,
metaphors, etc.) and should not rhyme.

2. Haiku
is more than a simple genre or form of poetry—haiku is a way of seeing, a way
of capturing experience, a kind of “aha” moment or instant when something in
the ordinary captures our attention and leads us to a closer, more concentrated
look at its connection to nature, and human nature.

3. Haiku
don’t have titles, although haiku sequences do.

4. Brevity
is key, along with a sense of immediacy (written in the present tense) and
often a sense of relationship between nature and human nature. Some haiku poets
feel that one measure of a haiku’s success is its ability to be read in a
single breath. Most will agree that a successful haiku is characterized by
crystal-cutting clarity and in-the-moment presence.

5. Haiku
are about spiritual realities, the realities of our every-day lives, and the
realities of human- and natural-world relationships. Most importantly, haiku
honor the inside of an experience through attention to the outside.

6. Compact
and direct, haiku appear to be light and spontaneous, but their writing
requires careful reflection and discipline—haiku may even be considered a kind
of meditation. Finely-tuned powers of observation reveal the haiku moments that
happen continually in the world around us.

7. Don’t
be bound by any notions of 5,7,5 syllable structure—focus instead on use of
season words, two-part juxtapositions, and objective sensory imagery.

Tips:

1. Bashō
said that each
haiku should be “a thousand times on the tongue.” Before writing anything, read
many haiku from a range of sources to get a “feel” for the form. Be sure to
read some haiku that have been translated from the Japanese, but spend more
time on good haiku written in English. Read some of the haiku aloud.

2. After
you’ve read many haiku and have a sense of what they’re about, think about an
experience you’ve had.

3.
Remember the season in which you had the experience, and then think of a word
or phrase that suggests that season. For example, peonies is a season word for
spring; snow and ice are season words for winter. A simple phrase like “autumn
leaves” can evoke feelings of loneliness and the coming of darkness (shorted
days, longer nights) in winter. While many haiku appear to have a nature focus,
they are more-specifically based on a seasonal reference that as much about nature as it is within nature.

4.
Organize your thoughts into approximately three lines. First, set the scene,
then suggest a feeling and, finally, make an observation or record an
action. Write in the present tense, don’t use figures of speech (similes,
metaphors), and keep things simple.

5. Be
sure to include a contrast or a comparison. Remember that haiku often present
one idea in the first two lines and then switch quickly to something else in
the third. One of your goals is to create a “leap” between the two parts of
your haiku without making too obvious a connection between the parts or leaping
to a distance that’s unclear or obscure. At the same time, you must reveal the
emotions (not ideas) that you want to communicate without stating them overtly.

6. Try
to think of haiku in terms of your five senses—things you experience directly,
not ideas or your interpretation or analysis of “things.” Think in terms of
sensory description and avoid subjective terms.

7. Spend
time working on punctuation. In poems so brief, punctuation is important. Read
some of the examples and see how other haiku poets make punctuation work for
them in their haiku.

Examples:

From the
Japanese Masters

Winter seclusion –

Listening, that evening,

To the rain in the mountain.

— Issa

My life, –

How much more of it remains?

The night is brief.

— Shiki

Over the wintry

forest, winds howl in rage

with no leaves to blow.

— Soseki

No one travels

Along this way but I,

This autumn evening.

— Bashō

Contemporary
Haiku from Frogpond (Journal of the Haiku Society of America)

I LOVE IT, Risa! Wonderful imagery and sound quality (from the suggested sound of the deluge to that great second line), and then the surprise of the kittens. I can almost hear them mewing. Well-done, my friend!

Adele, I've grown rather fond of visiting your blog. I've taken to calling it 'Adele's Place.' Whether we are serious writers or hobbyist, there is always plenty to learn from you. Adele, of all the forms of poetry that I have attempted, the Haiku is by far the most difficult—how to give expression to a fleeting moment/experience—your haiku are little gems.

MY NEWEST BOOK

Click on the cover image to order.

ABOUT NOT ASKING WHAT IF

"Kenny has written some of the most hauntingly beautiful spiritual haiku I’ve ever read—haiku that take us as close to divinity as human language can get. Her haiku are spare and commanding, rich in imagery, and layered with meaning." (Alex Pinto, Tiferet)

“Traditional haiku, environmental haiku, psychological haiku, spiritual haiku—Adele Kenny has done them all. Her haiku are spare and powerful, always nuanced with rich symbolism. Her images and juxtapositions make readers hold their breath in wonder.” (Malachy McCourt, Author of A Monk Swimming)

A LIGHTNESS, A THIRST, OR NOTHING AT ALL — BOOK TRAILER

WHAT MATTERS

ABOUT WHAT MATTERS

"In Adele Kenny's finely wrought meditations on grief and loss, she never forgets that she's a maker of poems. What Matters straddles two of the exigencies of the human condition: diminishment and endurance. It abounds with poems that skillfully earn their sentiments." (Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prize in Poetry)

"These are poems that come to (poetic) grips with the issues of grief, fear, and death ... focused in a new and strong way." (Gerald Stern, National Book Award in Poetry)

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I’m the author of 24 books (poetry & nonfiction) with poems published in journals worldwide, as well as in books and anthologies from Crown, Tuttle, Shambhala, and McGraw-Hill.
I’ve worked as a guest poet for numerous agencies, have twice been a featured reader in the Dodge Poetry Festival, and my awards include two poetry fellowships from the NJ State Arts Council, the 2012 International Book Award for Poetry, and the Distinguished Alumni Award (Kean University). My book, A LIGHTNESS, A THIRST, OR NOTHING AT ALL, is a 2016 Paterson Prize finalist. In March of 2012, I was appointed Poet Laureate of Fanwood, NJ by the Borough Mayor and Council.
A former professor of creative writing in the College of New Rochelle’s Graduate School, I’m founding director of the Carriage House Poetry Series and poetry editor for Tiferet Journal. I give readings and conduct both agency-sponsored and private poetry workshops.

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REALLY FUNNY (Bulldog Reading Dylan Thomas)

HOW TO READ POETRY – Funny!

ATTENTION HAIKU POETS

If your area of interest is haiku and its related forms, click the image above for a list of journals (published in various countries) that might interest you.

ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE

Ever find yourself in the middle of a poem and unable to find that one perfect word? Here's the link for a site that provides synonyms, antonyms, related words, similar sounding words, and much more. Easy to use!